 | Pastor Dave grew up in northern New Jersey in a very diverse cultural area. He attended Central College in Pella, Iowa received a BA in sociology and psychology. He was an offensive guard for their NCAA Div III National Championship team in 1974. In speaking for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he sensed a call to full time ministry. Meeting is future wife Sandy at Central, went to Michigan to finish her college while Dave started Western Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Dave married Sandy in 77 and completed his Masters of Divinity degree in 78. Pastor Dave’s first church was in Fort Lee, New Jersey, home of the George Washington Bridge. Their three children were born there and he also served as a Police and Fire Chaplain for the city. In February 1991, they came to Wichita to start Harvest Community Church. In 2006, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant Theological (Presbyterian) Seminary in St Louis. During that year he gained a daughter-in-law with now 2 grandsons of 3 years and 6 months old. Besides Pastoring at HCC for the past 20 years, he has been Director of the SCSD & WPD Police Chaplains for 11.
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Religion
2011-06-01 10:02:00
“End of times” predicted?
Answer: It is true as the questioner says, for centuries people have proclaimed the “end is at hand.” Throughout the Bible, the time is forewarned by the prophets {Isaiah 2:1-5; Micah 4:1-5}; Jesus {Matthew 24-25} and the Apostles {2 Timothy 3; 2 Peter 3; Revelations 4:1} that the end is near. For every generation there is an end but there is also an expectation of “the end.” These were not predictions as they were living in the anticipation along with some of the indications of what the signs of “the end” were being seen.
All throughout history there have been predictions; even by the secular writers like Nostradamus a man of the occult sciences in the 1500’s predicted that 2012 would be the end. Some have sensationalized his predictions to this day. Other religions like Islam have their day of judgment.
There have been times with the rise of persecution of God’s people would bring an emphasis or some of the world events would show some of those signs. Hope would stem from a future judgment when God will make it all right. Even the early church saw glimmers in Chiliasm in the 4th century{a belief of a 1000 years of peaceful reign & utopia would begin} in harsh times. Seventh Day Adventist followed the prophetic calculations of William Miller that it would happen in 1844 and wait for Jesus to appear. The Jehovah’s Witnesses said He would come back in the 1918 after the liberation of Israel by the British in 1917. John Nelson Darby, founder of the Plymouth Brethren, began to move in organizing the Bible into periods of time called dispensations. These were popularized in the Scholfield Reference Bible. This helped point to the end in this generation. Also, with the re-establishment of Israel in 1948, the 6 Day War in Israel in 1967 and the European Union, Dispensationalist like Hal Lindsey began to make his predictions in the 70’s.
Back then I could remember well meaning Christians foolishly getting caught up in saying things like the Anti-Christ could be President John Kennedy if he rises from the dead after being mortally wounded as the Anti-Christ would do in Revelations 13:14. Others pointed to Ronald Wilson Reagan because his three names had only 6 letters in each or 666 the sign of the Beast (13:18}. Even today you still have books like “The Left Behind Series” by Tim LeHaye and Jerry Jenkins on Armageddon made of fiction along with Pre-millionalist biblical interpretation. There is also Harold Camping, popular Bible Teacher, who is predicting Christ’s return May 21, 2011. As you can see there are a host of speculations and interpretations of scripture but what is true?
Scripture does not give exact dates. Some would like to think that but, in fact, as Jesus said to His disciples leaving this earth as the resurrected Lord in Acts 1:7, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; “as the questionnaire rightly learned in their Bible School lesson.
However, I disagree with their assessment that there is contradiction here. There is no inconsistency with what Jesus said and the book of Revelation. The book of the Revelation is not a time line. Some have interpreted it as already having taken place like the A-millennialist who don’t read the book as a time line. Even the Pre-millennialist and Post-millennialist would be hard pressed to date the time from the book of Revelation as some have tried and done so. Most of what the Apostle John saw were the last moments of the judgment. Dating and speculating when it will take place are not to be part of it as Jesus shared in Acts 1:7.
What we are told, as Jesus points out to us, is that their will be birth pangs of His coming {Matthew 24:8} which we need an awareness of but that is not what is important. Many will claim to have had sightings of His coming back {Matthew 24:26}; however, when He returns it will be unmistakable. {vs 27} The key is to warn people of it’s inevitability and some will scoff at the thought. {2 Peter 3:3-18}. That we are ready for His return for we do not know when it will take place.{Matthew 24:36,42; 25:13} That we are to be using what we have in the mean time. {Matthew 25:14-46} The key is not the knowing when it will be but being out in the world sharing the good news preparing others in the power of the Holy Spirit which Jesus leaves as His last will and testament in Acts 1:8. Instead of being future gazers, as the Angels warned His disciples in Acts 1:11, let’s join God’s warning and evacuation team on earth. Sharing His Good News along with you, Pastor Dave!
PS – Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
